Suddenly a Family

by Harris, Leann

  Toni’s heart went out to the young woman. Carl had cruelly used Stephanie and the reality of that truth must’ve hurt her. “But it didn’t stop there, did it, Stephanie?”

  “No. Carl and Ollie submitted a lot of false bills. They had me send all the payments to that mail center.” Stephanie’s eyes filled with tears. “I was caught as surely as Ollie, because I’d done the billings.”

  Zach heard the questions Toni asked. After satisfying himself that Carl wasn’t hiding in a closet, he walked back to the living room.

  “What made you run, Stephanie?” Zach asked.

  Her frightened eyes shifted to him. “I heard about Ollie’s murder on TV the day you came to the accounting department. I knew that Carl must’ve killed Ollie, so I left to come here. Carl followed me. When I asked him if he murdered Ollie, he said Ollie wanted out.”

  “Why did he hit you?” Toni asked.

  “When he told me we were going to leave, I told him I didn’t want to go. He slapped me, and I knew I had better agree with him. He went back for his passport and money.”

  “Was that this morning?” Zach asked.

  Her eyes shifted nervously from Zach to her hands. “Yes. He’ll probably be back soon.”

  Toni lightly touched Stephanie’s hand. “Can you live with a man, Stephanie, wondering if he’s going to kill you, then leave your body behind, like he did to Ollie?”

  “And it’s likely that Carl murdered Wayne Thompson, too. You’ll just be another victim in a long line of people. It gets easier to kill each time,” Zach told her.

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Stephanie protested, but there was no sincerity in her voice.

  Toni’s eyes captured Stephanie’s. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. Maybe Ollie wanted out after the murder of Wayne, and Carl didn’t like Ollie’s cold feet.”

  “If I don’t miss my guess, I think your Carl has already killed two people. Your odds aren’t looking good, Stephanie, of living too long if you go with Carl.”

  Fear and desperation entered her eyes. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come with us to the Midland police and tell them what you know,” Zach answered.

  Her battle was clearly reflected in her eyes. Finally, she nodded her head.

  Toni grasped her hand. “You’re doing the right thing,” she assured Stephanie.

  “Why didn’t he love me?” Stephanie asked, despair coloring her voice.

  Toni couldn’t ignore the young woman’s pain. “It wasn’t you, Stephanie. It was Carl. He’s the type of man who’s only interested in himself and what everyone can do for him.”

  “He didn’t have kind words for you,” Stephanie softly added.

  Toni’s eyebrow rose. “That I don’t doubt.”

  Looking at Zach, Toni asked, “Do you want to call Martin and tell him we found Stephanie, and that she’s willing to talk?”

  “Yeah, I want to do that.”

  While Zach made the phone call, Stephanie retrieved her purse. As Tom waited, she paced the length of the living room. Her nerves were strung so tightly, that she thought she might snap. This seemed too easy. Finally, both Zach and Stephanie joined her.

  “Martin is waiting for us. As soon as Stephanie gives her statement, they’ll arrest Carl.”

  Zach opened the front door and glanced outside. Everything seemed quiet. He motioned Toni and Stephanie outside. As Stephanie passed in front of Zach, a shot rang out and Stephanie fell. Toni lunged forward as she screamed out Zach’s name, then she felt the bullet rip into her side. She heard Zach bellow, then heard the shots he returned.

  Within seconds, he knelt at her side. “Hold on, sweetheart. I’m going to call for help.”

  The burning in her side consumed her. It seemed like hours, but Zach returned and grasped her hand.

  “Help’s coming.”

  She looked up, and in his eyes, there was a tenderness Toni had longed to see. It was the last thing she remembered before blackness swallowed her.

  The helicopter lifted off, carrying Toni and Stephanie to the hospital in Midland. The few minutes that it had taken for the helicopter to arrive at their location were the longest, most torturous of Zach’s life. Countless times he replayed seeing Carl’s gun appear over the far back fender of Zach’s car, then Stephanie and Toni falling. As he reviewed it, it became obvious to Zach that Toni had lunged in front of him, taking the bullet surely meant for him.

  A cold, reasoning anger washed over Zach, and he wished he could’ve put those slugs into Carl before he shot. Why hadn’t he seen Carl hiding behind his car?

  The county sheriff and Texas Rangers broke into his dark thoughts.

  “We’ll need to interview you about what happened here,” the sheriff said.

  “No problem. First, I’ll need to call my wife’s father and let him know what’s happened.”

  “I can do that,” one of the deputies volunteered.

  Zach pinned the young man with a cold stare. “My wife’s father is George Anderson”

  The deputy’s eyes widened and he looked at his superior in dismay.

  “Why don’t you let Mr. Knight call,” the sheriff offered.

  Zach nodded, walked inside, and made the call. After a few thies, Zach tracked George down in Saddle, where he’d taken the girls to visit his daughter. Amazingly enough, George took the news calmly, wanting the details of the incident.

  “They’re taking Toni to Midland Memorial. She should be there in minutes. Stephanie Norman is also on that chopper. Carl is dead. I was too late to stop him from shooting Toni.”

  “But you killed the SOB,” George replied.

  “I aimed for the heart.”

  “I wish you’d shot the bastard before he harmed my daughter.”

  “You’re not the only one.” It would be a regret he would always live with. “I have to finish talking to the sheriff and the Rangers, George. It might take me several hours here.”

  “We’ll take the helicopter back and be expecting you.”

  When Zach hung up, he took a deep breath. He could only pray his session with the authorities was short. He needed to get to the hospital.

  The drive from Notrees back to Midland was sheer hell. He went over every word that Toni had said on the way there in his head. She’d tried to understand why he hadn’t trusted her enough with important information and had given him the benefit of the doubt. She had tried to understand why he acted as he had. That was a unique experience for him.

  And what about how Toni had taken his children to heart? She loved the girls, done what she could for them. Lori had bloomed under Toni’s tender care. Lisa was also thriving.

  He, too, had felt the results of her love.

  Looking at his own heart, Zach realized that he loved Toni. Odd, for a man who thought the notion of love was something teenage girls and songwriters said existed. Now, he knew that he’d been wrong. There was such a thing as love, because he felt it firsthand.

  He prayed that he would have the chance to tell her.

  When he walked into the operating waiting room, Lisa and Lori cried out his name and ran into his arms.

  As he looked over the girls’ heads, he saw George Anderson stand. Beside him sat his eldest daughter, J.D., and his son, Rafe.

  “Oh, Daddy, is Momma goin’ to be okay?” Lori asked, her face stained with tears.

  Zach’s gaze came back to his daughter. “I don’t know, sweetheart.” He stood and addressed George. “Have you heard anything?”

  “No. Alex has gone to see about Toni.” He looked at Zach. “Guess it’s good to have a doctor in the family.”

  “Yeah...” Zach gave his daughters a hug.

  “How did the interviews go with the police?” George asked.

  “Fine. The Ranger took Carl’s gun to see if it was the murder weapon in Ollie’s murder. We think it was. It was the same caliber as the other murder weapon.”

  George nodded.

  They sat for several more minutes
before Alex and the surgeon walked in.

  Zach shot to his feet. “How is she?”

  The surgeon stepped forward. “Are you the husband?”

  “I am.”

  “Your wife has lost a lot of blood, but we were able to repair the damage done by the bullet. We had to remove the spleen. She’s critical at this point, but her prognosis is good. She’s in recovery now. When we put her in intensive care, you can see her.”

  A weight was taken off Zach’s shoulders.

  “Is Momma goin’ to be okay?” Lisa asked.

  Zach looked down at his daughter. “We think so.”

  Lisa frowned. “Is that a yes?”

  Alex scooped up Lisa and carried her into the hallway. He heard her murmur to the little girl. “Your momma was hurt by a bullet. We’ve fixed her up. Now all we can do is pray.”

  “Why did this happen?” Lisa cried.

  Zach heard Alex comfort his daughter. Lori sat on George’s lap, her head resting on his shoulder. Zach looked at each of these people and realized that he wasn’t alone to face this tragedy. He had a family. The girls had a family, people to offer them comfort and support. It didn’t all rest on his shoulders. It was an odd and unique experience for him. Family. He just hoped the most vital part of the family would make it.

  When Zach walked into the intensive care unit, Toni was pale and hooked to several monitors. He walked to the head of the bed and lightly brushed his fingers across her cheek. Toni’s eyes fluttered open.

  “Hi,” she murmured.

  “Hi, yourself,” Zach answered. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I’ve been shot.”

  He smiled.

  “How are the girls?” she asked.

  “Worried about their new mother, just like their daddy is. Fight, Toni. We need you.” His eyes held hers, and he tried to will her to get well.

  “I will. I have too much to live for.”

  Zach sat holding Toni’s hand. She’d made it out of intensive care to a private room. He was waiting for her to wake up.

  Alex had recommended that Zach talk to Toni, telling her about the girls and anything he could think about.

  “The girls are wanting to come and see you. The hospital won’t let them up here, so your sisters are keeping them company. Alex took Lori to the doctor and she had her cast removed. She wanted to talk to you about it. She also wanted to know who was going to care for Bob, the Canada goose you have in the aviary.”

  “Call the department secretary. She has the name of a person to take care of the bird,” Tom whispered.

  Zach’s eyes flew to Toni’s face. Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to smile at him.

  “It was a good story about Lori.” Her voice was weak, but the sweetest sound Zach had ever heard.

  Pleasure filled his chest as he watched her look around. “I’m glad you’re finally awake.”

  “I feel like I’ve been run over. How is Stephanie?”

  “She’s going to live.”

  “Will she testify against Carl about how he swindled the company out of almost $100,000?”

  Zach smiled at her. “She won’t have to. Carl is dead.”

  She nodded.

  “Stephanie told the police that Carl and Ollie paid the field manager to falsify the field reports, and that they stole oil from the tanks and sold it on the open market. The field manager wanted out, and the others didn’t want to stop. Someone, either Ollie or Carl—personally I think it was Carl—hit the man on the head with a pipe and tried to make it look like an accident. Ollie must’ve gotten nervous about the situation, and Carl killed him. The cops ran a ballistics test on the gun Carl shot you with and it matched the one which ended Ollie’s life.”

  “Do you know why Carl decided to swindle the company?” she asked.

  “Apparently, he had his sights set on you. When you rejected him, he set out to get revenge.”

  “What a mess,” Toni murmured.

  Zach leaned over and lightly kissed her lips. Toni’s startled eyes met his.

  “Do you remember what I told you in intensive care?” he asked.

  “You asked me to fight, for you and the girls.”

  “That’s right because Lisa, Lori and I love you and don’t want to lose you.”

  Her eyes took on a cautious look. “All three of you love me?”

  He threaded his fingers through hers. “Yes. I know I once told you that I didn’t believe in love. Well, I didn’t know what I was talking about. I believe in it now, because I’ve experienced it. I love you, Toni.” His other hand lightly brushed the hair away from her face. “You’ve shown me the real thing, and taught me to believe. I want this marriage to be the forever-after kind of marriage. What do you say?”

  Tears ran into her hair. “You’ve also taught me something, Zach. That a tough, driven man, like my dad, can also be gentle and tender. You’ve made a difference in my life. I love you.”

  Lightly, Zach brushed his lips over hers.

  The door opened behind them, and George stood there with both Lisa and Lori.

  “Momma,” they cried and ran toward the bed.

  Zach looked at George. “How’d you get them inside?”

  George grinned. “I gave this hospital a lot of money. I simply asked the right folks.”

  Zach shook his head. Life was going to be interesting.

  Epilogue

  As they pulled up to the mansion, all of Toni’s family was there. They eagerly waited for news of the custody hearing.

  Before Zach could turn off the engine, her family rushed out of the house.

  “What happened?” J.D. demanded as she threw open the passenger side door.

  Toni stood and grinned at the assembled group. “The judge found no reason to terminate Zach’s rights as a parent. As far as he could see, Zach is a model father.” Pride shone on Toni’s face.

  “Yeah, the guy in the robe said that we were lucky to have a daddy like ours,” Lisa piped in.

  “And a momma, too,” Lori added.

  A round of applause followed. They filed into the house and George poured the champagne. When he tried to hand a glass to Toni, she shook her head. Everyone gave her an inquiring stare. She poured herself a soft drink, then joined in the toast.

  Zach threw her a questioning glance.

  “What’s going on, daughter?” George asked.

  Everyone stared at her. Toni gave up the idea of telling Zach in private. “I’m pregnant and don’t want the alcohol.”

  Stunned surprise greeted her announcement, followed by laughs and hugs.

  “How did this happen?” J.D. asked.

  Alex shook her head. “The doctors didn’t tell Toni it would be impossible, just a slim chance.” She turned to Toni. “I believe you beat the chances.”

  Toni smiled. Finally, Toni was able to turn to Zach.

  “I hope you’re not—”

  He put his finger across her lips, stopping her. The love in his heart could clearly be seen on his face. “I’m delighted. Thank you, sweetheart. You’ve made my life perfect.”

  She swallowed her tears, and thanked heaven for Zachary Knight with all her heart.

  “What’s happening?” Lisa demanded.

  Toni looked at the twins. “You’re going to have a brother or sister in about seven months.”

  “Really?” Lisa asked, delight on her face.

  Toni nodded.

  Lisa and Lori looked at each other, then smiled.

  “Gee, that’s better than having Sam,” Lisa commented. “I can’t wait.”

  Zach pulled her close and brushed a kiss across her lips. “This time, I’ll get to be there the entire time.”

  Toni smiled. “You’d better believe it.”

  ISBN : 978-1-4592-5868-6

  SUDDENLY A FAMILY

  Copyright © 1999 by Barbara M Harrison

  All rights reserved Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of tins work in whole or in part in any form by
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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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